As I watched Derek get up to walk out of the abandoned subway station, I suppressed the internal groan I was feeling. He had left me, alone, with Isaac. I looked across the room to the dusty mattress he was laying on and, too my surprise, found him propped up on his arm, staring at me. I found myself becoming increasingly annoyed, not just by the fact he was staring at me, but by the fact he seemed to be observing me the way scientists do lab rats.
"What?" I finally exclaimed, earning a small grin from his lips.
"Why don't you like me?" Again he had caught me off guard, something I hated and that rarely happened. And yet, that was twice in five minutes. There was something about him that kept me guessing. Most people were predictable, like an open book. After all, people-reading was a very effective talent of mine, and a great outlet for overly observant people as myself. Even Derek, whose chapters seemed longer and more complicated than most, had been read. Isaac was different though, spontaneous and blunt. His chapters seemed to end no where and start every where, like a day dreamer taking a plunge into the river of thought.
It frustrated and intrigued me.
I frowned, unwillingly bringing my mind back to the question. Raising an eyebrow at him, I replied, "What makes you think that?"
He snorted and rolled his eyes like I had just asked the dumbest question ever voiced in the history of mankind.
"I can see it in your eyes, plus I know you don't trust me."
That one earned a grin from me.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you give off the con-artist vibe," I replied, watching the amusement play across his face. "Besides," I said, looking away from him, "trust isn't something that comes easy to me. Derek knows that…" my voice trailing off in lost memories.
"I can relate." The seriousness in his voice made me snap my attention back to him. For once, the humorous light wasn't in his eyes.
"What do you mean?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
"I mean, I know what it's like to trust someone one day, then wake up the next to find out the person you thought you knew is the monster standing in front of you."
The sincerity in his voice had me at a loss for words.
"The funny thing is," he continued before I got a chance to recover, "you never stop hoping they'll change."
I stared at him, his blue eyes dark and restless, like the ocean during a storm. They looked into mine and yet, I had a feeling they were somewhere far, far, away.